Ellis Lucia/The Times-PicayuneIndianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has taken the fewest sacks (13) in the league this season.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. - Offensive linemen for the Indianapolis Colts ultimately get a paycheck for one thing: making sure Peyton Manning's large frame and the earth rarely meet.

They've earned their money in the many weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLIV.

The Colts allowed only 13 sacks this season, the best in the league. That statistic is perhaps even more remarkable when one considers how integral the pass is to the Colts' offense. The team threw 614 times in 2009, which means the line allowed a sack once every 47.2 attempts, also the best mark in the NFL.

Built around 11-year veteran center Jeff Saturday, the men in blue pride themselves on their pass protection and their camaraderie.

And Manning said he, for one, appreciates them.

"You've got five fighters up there, " Manning said. "I certainly don't like to use the comparisons to military and battle, but our offensive line, you've got five guys that love to go into the trenches. Just fighters and hard workers up there."

He rattled them off one by one, even giving props to departed tackle Tarik Glenn, who protected Manning's blind side at left tackle for nine years.

"Charlie Johnson, who played a lot in (Super Bowl XLI) where Ryan Diem was injured, has done a heck of a job there at left tackle, " Manning began. "(Ryan) Lilja and (Kyle) DeVan are both blue-collar guys, fighters. We all know about Jeff Saturday, what he means to our team. Ryan Diem has just been a rock out there at right tackle."

Indeed, Manning expressed such fondness for his linemen he started to sound like an old beer commercial.

"I love those five guys in front of me, " he said. "I love their effort. I love their attitude. I am looking forward to playing with them on Sunday."

The relationship between Manning and his offensive linemen extends off the field, and goes a long way toward explaining the unit's success, according to its members.

"I think as a group we work real well together, " said Diem, a nine-year veteran who started 15 games this season. "You've got some older veteran leadership with Jeff and myself and Ryan Lilja, and you've got Charlie Johnson who's in his fourth year now and he's played a lot. (And DeVan) has definitely made an impact early and a pretty solid player. And I think as a group we just function well."

In the Colts' locker room, for example, Manning's locker is in the middle of a line of offensive linemen, as opposed to with the other quarterbacks, as it would be on many teams. Backup left tackle Tony Ugoh said he had never played on a team where the quarterback had his locker in the midst of the linemen until he got to the Colts.

"I'll always be indebted to Jeff for what he has done for me, just protecting me as a quarterback, " Manning said about his relationship with his center. "I have never taken him for granted. I stay real close to him. Our lockers are next to each other. We ride next to each other on the plane, are in constant communication. We are golf partners in the offseason. I am very grateful for how he has played, what he has done for me, what he has done for our team."

As evidence of how Manning means it when he uses the word "indebted, " as he has repeatedly this week, Johnson held out his wrist. On it was a fine silver watch, engraved with a date in between "PM" and "CJ." There have also been innumerable dinners, the linemen said, either hosted at the stately Manning manor in Indianapolis or added to the Manning credit card at St. Elmo's, the city's famous downtown steakhouse.

Lilja echoed the view the unit's tightness plays a huge role, and said it helped him return seamlessly from injury.

"It wasn't difficult because these guys on this line are some of my best friends, honestly, " he said. "They'll be life-long friends. When I got back, it was a great feeling to slide into the huddle with those guys."

Another advantage the Colts have, oddly enough, is Manning's lack of mobility. It means the line has less space to defend.

"You'd have to put 'athleticism' as the bottom rung of the ladder when you consider what makes Peyton great, " Saturday joked.

Offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who says he will retire after Super Bowl XLIV, picked up the jocular thread, replying, "he didn't get Archie's genes, let's put it that way, " when asked whether the blocking schemes were simpler for a pure pocket passer.

On the other hand, Mudd noted, "he's pretty resourceful, though, " when considering how Manning operates within the pocket, a zone with a front line Mudd described as "a curved dish."

That helps his line and Manning's durability. A perfect example came in the AFC championship game, when the Jets were getting pressure on Manning in the first quarter. They had sacked him once, and on a subsequent possession when a Jets blitzer roared toward him, Manning simply fell to the turf. It counted as a sack, but it didn't put any wear and tear on Manning.

"You still have a spot that you want to get to, unless you tell them that you want to move that spot, " Mudd said. "The discipline of knowing where that guy is is good. It's good for us because that's what we do."

Thus the lineman's job is somewhat simpler in terms of scheme with the Colts, but expected to be flawless in terms of execution. For the most part, the linemen said they take pride in the same things others members of their fraternity do: discipline, not committing penalties, run blocking.

But just as Manning sounded almost soft talking about how he "loves" these guys, the Colts acknowledged that the run blocking might be slightly less of a priority. And they make absolutely no apology for such football heresy.

"We have a great quarterback. So if we can throw the ball and win the game, why not?" Ugoh said. "As an offensive line, we would love to line up and just run the ball but, hey, like I said, we have a great quarterback."